Piece by Piece
by JBCC84
Summary: *Knuckles fanfic It's another day of battling robots for Sonic and the gang, but this day comes with a twist, an orphan named Jamie Reese. She becomes sick after her rescue, and out of all who are concerned, Knuckles stays with her until she heals in the hospital. Pneumonia is one thing. PTSD is another.
1. Just Another Day

Ah, Station Square is quiet this spring morning. The birds are singing. The water is calm. The palm trees on the beach are swaying. Rockets are aiming towards the skyscrapers. Wait, what? The first rocket bursts into flames, taking an office building down with it. The second rocket is about to strike until an anthropomorphic, red echidna glides from an opposite tower to push the rocket into the ocean. A volcano of salt water soars into the sky and rains onto the pavement.

The echidna wipes his brow and deeply sighs. "In the nick of time, too," he says to himself.

In a split second, a blue, anthropomorphic hedgehog races to the foot of the still standing building and shouts, "Nice save, Knuckles."

"And I made it before you did, Sonic, which makes it all the better. Where are Tails and Amy?"

"Still trying to find the creep shooting rockets all over Station Square."

"They've been searching for an hour. What is this thing? Invisible?"

Beep! Beep! Each of their watches go off, signaling an incoming call. They look down at their wrists to see the double tail insignia flashing yellow. They both activate the two-way camera by pressing the sides of the watches. Their screens combined into one, so they could see their yellow and white furred, blue-eyed, anthropomorphic fox friend, Tails.

"Speaking of the devil," mutters Knuckles.

"Tails!" exclaims Sonic, "Any good news?"

"Downtown Station Square, Sonic! It passed the Shopping Center!" Tails frantically informs.

"Come quick!" shrieks the voice that belongs to the only female in the pack. An anthropomorphic, pink hedgehog pokes her head into the screen area, batting her long lashes quickly. "Sonic, Knuckles, there's a girl here! She's in trouble, and this thing has more rockets than I have shoes in the closet!"

"Then, what time is there to waste, Amy?" Sonic replies, "Come on, Knuckles. There's going to be nut and bolt oatmeal for breakfast."

* * *

Downtown, Tails's plane zooms past over the store roofs, chasing a silver, flying robot with red, metal hands and feet. The robot has fire-powered rockets blasting from the soles to keep it balanced in the air. Its arms transform from hands to machine guns in seconds. The torpedo bullets are fired and form holes on the sidewalk. Dodging the shots is a pale girl with the height of five foot five and blonde, shiny hair that reaches the bottom of her upper back. Her sneakers are worn, and her laces are loose, causing her to trip block after block. The flight instinct continues to kick in when the robot's shadow consumes her physical body. Tails and Amy would assist her by distracting the robot with pellet shots to its metal skin. The robot would only strike the plane once each time and return to head hunting the innocent human.

"Tails, it's closing in on her!" Amy shouts.

"I'm running out of ammo, Ames," he responds at equal volume. "I don't know how much longer we can distract him until he finally gets her!"

"Oh, Sonic! Knuckles! Where are you?"

Coming from the opposite direction, Sonic spin dashes through the streets, avoiding each civilian at perfect distance. His apologies are too quick to hear. Knuckles races and glides across the rooftops. The overview sight gets him a good look at the robot responsible for the rockets that have been blowing up all over the city.

"Sonic, do you see him?" he calls to his friend on land.

"So that's the ugly thing responsible for ruining my morning," the blue hedgehog answers. "I'll get the victim. You take out its head."

"Right!" Knuckles skydives off the roof and speeds towards the robot. His spiky knuckles pierce the metal, causing the echidna to land hands first. Small sparks pop, but they aren't enough to create a major effect on the functioning of the mechanical villain. "So you like picking on little girls, huh?" he mocks, "Well, let's see if you can squish me instead." One smack to the head is all it takes for the robot to start attacking a different target.

On the ground, before the girl could reach the wall, Sonic scoops her from the ground and dashes out of the area with Tails's plane flying over them as a shield. "Don't worry, princess. That bully won't try to lay his hands on you again."

As weak as her response is, the girl still manages to express her gratitude. "Thank you."

Knuckles jumps once both of the robot's arms come swinging, and the fists miss and hit the head. The robot freezes in mid action, which gives the echidna the perfect opportunity to tease the mechanical creature some more. "Hey, Boltface! Over here!" he calls from the left shoulder.

The robot attacks with the right.

He approaches the right and says, "Ya missed me, moron!"

It attacks with the left next.

He returns to the original spot and taps the robot's head. "I have to say. You're aiming is weak." Before the living machine could strike again, Knuckles climbs down to the back of it, where the black symbol of Eggman is marked. "Sorry to say, pal, but your mission is done." With a loud grunt, his right fist punches through the metal, and it comes out with wires in between its fingers.

The rocket power from the feet gives out. The hero safely lands on the street, and the robot crashes, still in whole.

"Could've gone faster if we found you earlier, jerk. Oh well. We all can't be choosers, can we? Give my regards to Eggman for me." Cracking his knuckles, the echidna starts his way back to the main area of Station Square. His feet sense a minor tremor, which causes him to turn. One more rocket is fired towards him, and the best Knuckles can do is to hop onto it and push it into the partly cloudy sky. "Nice improvement for your last." Before he can say anymore, the sky bursts into flames. Shortly after, rain pours into the city. "You have got to be kidding me," is all Knuckles can say when the water wets his bangs over his eyes.


	2. A Trip to the Hospital

The Sonic Suite is a private room in the Station Square Plaza Hotel for the heroes as an apartment. It is gifted to Sonic the Hedgehog as a thank you for saving the city so many times in the past, and the noble, blue hedgehog couldn't be anymore thrilled with the present. Of course, the Suite is too big for one person alone, so he let Tails, Knuckles, and Amy stay over to fill in the empty rooms. Even so, there is one room extra, and Sonic can now put it to use after bringing the girl in from the sudden rain. As Amy fluffs the pillows, Sonic tucks in the sheets. Tails watches by the door like the abandoned son.

"Isn't this nice, Sonic?" the pink hedgehog questions, batting her eyelashes. "It's like playing house. I'm the mother, you're the father, and this cute, little thing is our daughter."

"Can I be the son then?" calls Tails, waving his gloved hand.

"Amy," Sonic beings. He takes a deep breath, making Tails back away from the door to avoid the conversation. "Just because I'm starting to adapt to the idea of holding hands and such doesn't mean I'm ready to pretend to be your husband."

Amy scoffs. "Sonic, don't be silly. You don't have to pretend when you're already doing a decent job."

The blue hedgehog's mouth hangs agape. "Are you serious?"

"Guys," the fox butts in, "Knuckles is back."

The hedgehog couple stops arguing and return to the center of the Suite, which the main door leads from the hotel's hallway. Knuckles's body drips extra rainwater onto the tile floor as he trudges across the room to fetch a towel.

"So it was you that started the third rainstorm this week," Sonic finally says once the echidna starts drying himself off.

"Pipe it, Sonic. That creep shot one more rocket at me, and it had to go somewhere," Knuckles growls. "Anyway, how's the girl holding up?"

"She's sleepin' in the spare room."

"We finally put it into good use, Knuckles," chirps the fox kid.

"At least she's okay now," Knuckles says with a sigh following.

Amy starts to shiver. "I feel bad for her, Knuckles. Her parents are probably outside looking for her. She's just a little girl."

Sonic scratches the back of his head. Geez, I haven't thought about that until now. Amy's right."

The stern member heavily sighs. "We'll go out looking once she's in better condition. After that fight, we all need to rest."

"Then, I say we eat?"

"How about scrambled eggs and bacon?" suggests Amy.

The boys, "Mmm," delightfully. "We're in for that."

"Just give me a few minutes."

"Well, I'll watch over our little guest," Knuckles informs, pointing to the spare room door. He pokes his nose through the opening to widen it. The light from the kitchen shines onto the head of the bed, where the girl's face can bee seen. His breath heavies as he watches her mouth open and close. "Hey, princess," Knuckles cooes, petting her hair with his fingers. "You're okay now."

The girl groans, turning from her side to her back. "Who's there?" she asks weakly.

"A friend. The name's Knuckles. My friend, Sonic, was the one who brought you here for safety."

"Knuckles? Sonic? Interesting names."

"Well, thanks…I guess. What's your name, princess? Or if you like to be called that, fine by me."

She giggles a bit. "Jamie Reese."

"Jamie. That's cute."

Jamie's cheeks blush pink from the paleness.

"Well, your last name's going to help me though." Knuckles pulls the nightstand drawer open and grabs a phone book. "I'm going to look up your parents' names, so I can…"

"What parents?" The interruption is faint.

"Excuse me?"

"My parents died when I was little. I don't live anywhere except where I'm accepted."

The echidna purses his mouth into the shape of an "o" and bows his head. "I'm really sorry. I didn't realize."

"It's not your fault. I've grown used to it."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen. I'm starting my last year of school next week."

His heart stops out of surprise. "Wow. You're quite a lady, huh?"

She chuckles again. "Oh, thank you. I'm nothing much really."

"Oh, you are. Everyone has a reason to be who he or she is."

"You were the one on the robot, aren't you? You're the one that destroyed it. You did destroy it, right?"

"Good as gone. Everything's back to normal."

"Good. It was scary to have that thing shooting lasers, bullets, and rockets at you for an hour. Imagine a kidnapping!"

"Well, good thing you're here now, Jamie. I think Amy's done with breakfast. Want some?"

"Thanks, Knuckles."

"Anytime." He closes the door to the point where the light can't get in for Jamie's benefit.

"How is she?" Amy questions, pushing a plate of eggs and bacon towards him.

He replies, "Jamie's doing just fine. Weak, but she can make conversation."

"So that's her name," says Tails.

"Jamie Reese. She's an upcoming third year in school and an orphan."

Sonic coughs up his milk. "Orphan?" he exclaims. "How come you didn't mention that first?"

"You didn't even ask."

"That doesn't matter, Knuckles. She doesn't have anyone to look after her. Imagine not having someone to take you to and back from school."

"Who cooks your meals morning, noon, and night," adds Amy.

"Cheers you on through your successes," points out Tails.

Sonic: "Buys your clothes."

Tails: "Toys."

Amy: "Celebrates the holidays with you."

Sonic: "Heals you when you're sick."

Amy: "Sings you songs."

Tails: "And kisses you goodnight."

Knuckles turns away without giving anyone a look. "Don't you think I know that? Do I want her to have a normal life? Of course, but what can we do?" After deeply breathing, he asks, "Can I have an extra plate?"

Without questioning, Amy hands the last one to Knuckles. "She'll be grateful."

"I'm sure of that." Knuckles slowly pushes her door open again. "Jamie. I got breakfast."

No response.

"Jamie? Are you alright, princess?" He widens the opening, and the light casts her pale face, which has gotten whiter than a few minutes ago. Her chest bounces as short breaths escape from her mouth. "Jamie!" Knuckles drops the tray near the door and rushes over to the bed, cupping her face in his hands. "Jamie! Princess, can you hear me?"

"Knuckles, what happened?" Sonic questions, quickly poking his head into the room.

"It's Jamie. I don't know what's wrong?" The panicking echidna places the back of his hand on her forehead. "She's very warm, and she's struggling to breathe. Sonic, we need a doctor!"

* * *

After the news breaks out, Sonic dashes to the Station Square Hospital with Jamie on his back. The rain doesn't make the journey a lot easier, but the hedgehog can't afford to skip a beat. As sick as Jamie already is, the cold, morning rain will only worsen her condition, which is the reason for the blanket that Knuckles supplied.

Sonic's abrupt appearance at the hospital startles everyone in the lobby. He gaps for breath as his knees hit the floor. "Please," he begs uncovering Jamie's body from the soaked blanket. "Get me Doctor Bernstein. She's sick!"

No one budges, for the head doctor, Wolt Bernstein, walks into the lobby, also startled. "Sonic," he says, "its' been awhile."

"Doc, we have a bigger problem than my last visit here."

"Indeed, we do. Claire, get the gurney out here. She needs to be examined now."

A moment later, Jamie is strapped to the gurney, and two nurses push her down the hall to an empty room. The medics disappear into the back without a trace.

Knuckles runs past the automatic doors and asks, "Did they take her?" gasping for breath.

"Just now," Sonic responds, "Bernstein's looking at her as we speak."

"Thank goodness for that."

"She'll be fine, Knuckles. The doc knows what to do more than we do."

The doctor returns to the lobby, and his lips form an "o" at the sight of the other hero in the lobby. "Oh, Sonic, you're still here. Good, and you brought a friend."

"Of course. What's the verdict? That was a very quick observation even for me."

Bernstein rubs his hands together as he explains, "From the extreme fatigue, fever, breathing struggle, and very sudden coughing she's been having after bringing her into the room, I've diagnosed her with pneumonia."

The creature boys gasp, cupping their mouths.

"She's lucky though. Back in the day, many died from this disease. Today, we have the medicine we need to at least get the bacteria out of her system.

"How long will that take?" Knuckles questions.

"The medicine? Shortly. Her getting back on her feet? A few days. Not long. As long as she's here, Jamie's staying in bed rest. She'll be fine, you two. We've taken care of worse."

"That's assuring."

Sonic nudges his friend's shoulder like a light punch. "Stop being sarcastic, Knuckles. Jamie is going to be fine under the doc's care. Everyone comes out of this hospital looking better than before."

"And I will be relieved if the pattern continues to stay like that."


	3. Healing Beauty and the Echidna Prince

It isn't long until Amy and Tails arrive at the hospital with concern on their faces. Amy drags Tails into the building by his wrist until Sonic and Knuckles are in sight. "How is she?" is the first thing she asks.

Knuckles is the first to respond with his voice as cold as ice. "She has pneumonia.

"Oh no!" she screams with Tails joining in.

"I don't know about you guys," Sonic says, "but the disease must've hurt her for days, and today, she just couldn't take it anymore. Doc Bernstein keeps us noted with updates."

"Jamie has to have been in so much pain," Tails replies.

"How can no one have seen her?" Amy questions.

Knuckles answers, crossing his arms and legs, "The world is a cruel place. She is an orphan who doesn't belong to any foster care or orphanage program, so people like at her like a ghost. They don't see her at all."

"Knuckles!" Sonic snaps, "That's not what anyone wants to hear!"

"But it's the truth, Sonic."

That's enough!"

"Boys, please," begs Amy, "Jamie doesn't need this. She needs us to be calm. Please, we need to think of her."

The whole lobby turns so quiet that everyone can hear clicking pens, clacking shoes, and ringing telephones. That leaves Knuckles to his own thinking. Think of her. Amy's right. We need to be the family she doesn't have, and I'm here, acting like a sour puss.

* * *

It's been a few hours since Jamie Reese's admission into the hospital. Sonic keeps continuing to ask Bernstein questions about her condition and history with the city. Along with the way, puzzle pieces are starting to picture the mystery known as Jamie Reese.

"She hasn't been a mystery to us," the doctor explains, "We actually know her through her parents. Thirteen years ago, there was an explosion in the business area, and Mr. and Mrs. Reese happened to be two of the many victims in the tragedy. We insisted to put Jamie in a foster home, but her families were not permanent as we would've wanted them to be."

"Why? Is Jamie troubled?" asked Sonic.

"Personality wise, of course not. However, the families reported mysterious injuries and deaths after adopting her. They call her the cursed child."

"That sounds horrible. How dare they just blame her for things like that? She's just a kid."

"I find it strange myself. After Jamie started high school, she gave up on foster families and started living out on her own"

"Where would she go?"

"That no one knows. Today's the first time I've seen her in years."

The clock above the main desk reads, "1:09 PM," by the time Knuckles wakes up from his nap. Amy rests on snoring Sonic's shoulder, and Tails is curled up into a ball on the next chair to the right. Permission to see Jamie happens to be the last thing on Knuckles's mind. He fetches some snacks from the refreshment counter and heads down the same hall the medics disappeared through when they took Jamie down there for the first time. Knuckles pokes his head on the window of each room to find Jamie, and the process takes one minute to complete. Her room is located in the back where the two side halls meet into one, resting in the center. The lights flicker, and when Knuckles looks through the window, there lays sleeping Jamie covered with thin bed sheets. The door is left ajar by a crack.

Knuckles pushes his way in and hops onto the doctor's stool. He takes one spin on it and stops at the beginning of the circle, blinking his straight vision back. "Hey, princess," he greets her, not expecting a response. After not hearing anything, Knuckles goes back to his thinking. You had family, but after being put back at the start so many times, I can see why you wouldn't want it now. No one take you to and back from school. No one to cook all your meals. No one to cheer you on. No one to buy you clothes or things to play with. No one to celebrate the holidays or birthdays with you. No one to sing you songs. No one to heal you when you're sick. He cups his mouth to stop the thought vomit. "Everything fell apart so quickly for you. I understand, Jamie. I do."

"Knuckles?"

His purple eyes shoot open to Jamie's weak voice. "Princess?"

Jamie's face has color again, and Knuckles can finally see the green in her eyes. The sparkling is the first he has seen when she tears up. The echidna hops off the stool to let Jamie cry against him.

"It's okay. You're okay."

"No. You shouldn't be here," she sobs.

"Jamie, the doctor told me about you, and I don't care about it. I'm not leaving. We're not leaving," Knuckles replies.

"We?"

"Sonic, Tails, and Amy are here, too. We've been waiting for you to wake up."

Jamie pushes Knuckles away and turns away from his face. "I'll hurt all of you. Go now!"

"No," he answers harshly.

"Yes."

"Princess, let me at least tell you why."

"I don't want to hear it."

"I know you do, Jamie, so I'll say it. You want someone to love you and take care of you, but because of all the rejection you've been through, you're scared. You're scared of getting what you want and losing it because of an accident. I don't know how many times that's happened or who decided to give you up, but if I know anything, it's not your fault. It's never your fault."

Jamie returns to look at him with more tears. "You're lying."

"I would never lie to you."

"Why?"

" 'Cause who deserves it?" He reaches his hand out. "Come on, Jamie. I'll help you. We'll all help you. Piece by piece. We'll complete the puzzle together. So what do you say? Do you want to be a part of our family?"

"Knuckles…" Her left hand trembles as she lifts it from the bed and stops in mid action. In a split second, she grabs hold of his thick palm.

"You said enough." His tiny smile is enough for anyone to understand. "You sound hungry." Knuckles opens his hand.

Jamie pulls hers back to get a view of the small cookie from the snack table in the lobby.

"There are more where that came from," he informs, opening his arms to his stash.

* * *

Two days pass, and good news is shared.

Bernstein announces, "She is free to go." He pats Jamie's shoulders as she smiles at her new, permanent to her hopes, family.

With teary eyes, Amy takes Jamie's hands and says, "Welcome home, sweetie."

"Welcome to the family," cheers Tails.

"You will not be disappointed," Sonic tells her, holding his fist to his chest.

Then last, Knuckles only says, "Thank you for accepting our proposal, Jamie."

She bows to the four and responds with a gleeful, "I'm glad I did."


	4. The Together Gift

The next week will be Jamie Reese's major transition in her school career. Station Square High School is not far from the hotel, but even if it were, Sonic's trips would still be quick. However, for her first day, Jamie just wants everyone to slowly walk with her so they can get the real feel of her first day with her new best friends watching.

"Jamie, I'm back with your uniforms!" Amy calls from the living room of the Sonic Suite.

"Did they give you trouble?" Sonic questions, muting the television show he's been watching with Tails and Knuckles for the past hour.

"Not at all. What? You thought they would ask why a hedgehog is Jamie's mother?"

Tails snickers but stops when Amy glares straight at him.

The door to Jamie's now official bedroom opens, and the seventeen-year-old exits with her face aglow. "You got them!"

"Yes, I did." Amy bats her eyelashes twice.

"They're perfect. My third year of school and last. I can hardly believe it."

"Time flies," Sonic says with a nod.

"So does Sonic after bouncing off the wall," Knuckles adds with a smirk.

Sonic responds with a nasty glare.

"Well, Jamie, this is your last day of break," Tails reminds her. "What do you want to do?"

She lays her fingers on her pale cheeks as they turn a bit pink. "Um…I don't know actually. I don't have many hobbies, and I usually spent my days outside anyway."

"Isn't shopping one?" Knuckles suggests.

"It would've been if I had the money to go."

Amy jumps onto the top of the couch and throws her right arm into the air, pointing her finger to the ceiling. "Then, I say shopping road trip! Who's with me?"

Everyone agrees.

* * *

Station Square's Shopping Center is bustling with last minute school shoppers, mostly daughter-mother duos. The rain has stopped, and the sun makes the windows shimmer. The windows of the jewelry stores sparkle significantly. The restaurants are busy with chatter, wallets full of upcoming profits, and delicious food. Cars circle the streets and dip into the driveway entrance of the parking lot. Those who arrive on foot will have the most successful experience of shopping.

"What a beautiful day for shopping," says Jamie, straightening her green t-shirt with the bottom of it trapped in her jean skirt, "with all the bustle."

"Looks like everyone else stole our idea of shopping before school," Sonic points out.

"What's to cry over?" responds Amy, "We're here, and all the stores are open for business."

"I call buddying up with Sonic!" exclaims Tails, grabbing onto his blue arm.

"Hey! He was mine way before you called it!"

"He's my best friend!"

"He's my boyfriend!"

Before Sonic can stop the argument, Knuckles gets in between the pink hedgehog and the yellow fox, hissing, "That's enough. You two can both go with Sonic."

"Then, who's going with Jamie?" yelps Sonic.

"I will." Knuckles grabs her arm securely and pulls Jamie closer to him. "It's funny how I'm the only person who wants to take her shopping."

* * *

Knuckles and Jamie take the east portion of the Shopping Center, which is a street that's full of clothing, shoe, and jewelry stores. Jamie gets a look through the windows, but she never stops to go through the door. The echidna asks, "See anything?" the girl responds, not even answering the question.

"You didn't have to scold them. Tails and Amy decided to go with Sonic," she says.

"Jamie." He sighs heavily. "If you want to find friends, you need to find ones who pick you first. What they did was shallow."

"I don't think so. I wasn't offended at all."

"Not even? No offense, Jamie, but that's a naïve way to look at things. I mean I know they like you but at least tell them, "What about me?" once. It's not a bad thing to stand up for yourself."

"I never said it was. Knuckles don't worry about it. It's done now. I'll do better next time."

"Do better? You already did good."

"Well, thanks."

"And, Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"If you want anything, just give me a holler, and I'll get it."

"I'll keep that in…" Jamie turns towards a window, and what she sees stops her from ending the conversation smoothly. "Holy cow! Look at that." She presses her face on the window, sighing and saying, "Beautiful."

Knuckles stops walking away and returns to the window that belongs to Richard's Jeweler's. In the main display, a shiny, gold, and emerald ring sits on a white, cozy pillow. The sign reads, Now from the Romance Gems Collection! Other examples from the collection surround the newest ring. The similarity between the rings is the heart shape of the gemstone that sits in the middle.

"Hearts are my favorite," Jamie says with a very long, dreamy sigh.

"They are gorgeous," Knuckles replies, nodding.

"I want the green one. I don't know what stone it is, but it's the most beautiful of them all."

The echidna twitches his nose and explains, "It's called an emerald. Not only is it beautiful, but it's said to be powerful also."

"Oh, Knuckles…I really want it. I want to have power, too."

He pats her shoulder. "First of all, I'll buy it for you. Second of all, you do have power. You don't need anything to feel it." Then, he winks his purple, shiny eye.

* * *

An hour passes, and everyone in the Sonic group returns to their beginning spot at the heart of the Shopping Center. Amy's shopping bags are full of new clothes (half being Jamie's new wardrobe). Then, Knuckles holds Jamie's hand as they cross the street, Jamie looking down at her newest piece of jewelry.

"Someone's in a good mood," points out Sonic.

"Look what Knuckles got me," is all she can say, presenting her right hand to her new friends.

Amy drops her bags and gasps. "How beautiful!" she shrieks joyfully.

"Knuckles got you that?" asks Tails.

"Yup," Jamie replies.

Sonic pats his red friend on the back. "Funny, Knuckles. The last person I would expect to buy jewelry is you." With one shove from Knuckles, the blue hedgehog lands on the ground with a thud. "Ow!"

"Keep your mouth shut, speedy boy," he hisses.

The girls and Tails snicker. "Aw, Knuckles has a soft spot," Tails says.

"Shut it!"

"Alright, cut it out," mandates Amy. "Let's grab something to eat before we go. I'm starving."

The others agree on the perfect way to end the shopping day by heading down for the pizza place for a nice big blowout.


	5. First Day for Jamie

The next day comes, and the whole gang walks Jamie to her first day of school. Many students have arrived at the high school already, dressed in their uniforms for the first day orientation. No one is more excited for this day than Jamie Reese herself. Though school starts at a later hour, Jamie wakes up at four in the morning just to iron her uniform, do her hair, put makeup on her face, and make her bed before the other can wake up to make breakfast.

The others wake up around seven with the thought that Jamie is still asleep in bed. Amy is the first to notice that the bathroom lights have been left on from Jamie's preparations. Sonic goes to Jamie's door and knocks on it three times.

"Hey, princess, you awake?" he calls out.

"Oh, Sonic sir, yes. Yes, I am," Jamie replies quickly. She dashes to the door and opens it wide. "I'm sorry. Did I wake all of you up with all the noise from my room?"

"Uh…" Sonic can't stop acting surprised as he looks up and down Jamie's first day of school look. "No. How long have you been up for?"

"Oh, just a couple of hours. I've been busy."

Sonic looks at the others and shrugs. "Well, we were just going to act you about breakfast if you want to have it here or go out and get something along the way."

The girl squeezes through the hall and aims towards the kitchen. "Oh, whatever is fine. I just need time to make lunch before I go."

"I can do that for you," Amy interrupts, "It's no trouble really."

"No, this is my first day of school, not yours. I need to be the one doing things around here."

Knuckles hops on the counter and sits on the edge of it. "Jamie, don't work yourself too hard. All your energy needs to be towards your first day of school, not the hours before it."

"Don't worry about me, Knuckles. I'm sure that I'll be fine when I get there with this to do."

"You woke up at what time?"

"Oh, I don't know. It seems to be three hours ago…"

"Four in the morning?" every person in the room except Jamie exclaims in question.

"Jamie, do you do this all the time?" Tails asks.

"No. Just on every first day of school."

Sonic smacks his forehead. "Oh boy, this is going to be a long day."

"It's official," Amy says, "Jamie, you need to stay in your room and let me make your lunch. We'll pick up breakfast at the bakery along the way."

"But, Amy, I'm seventeen years old. I…"

"No buts, Jamie," interrupts Knuckles, pushing the girl away from the kitchen, "I happen to agree with Amy on this one. If there are chores you want to complete when you get back, we'll be more than happy to let you do them, but now is not the perfect time to start running around all over the place."

"Knuckles…"

"No, Jamie. Take a half an hour nap. We'll wake you up when we have to leave."

The girl puffs her lips and grows her eyes until not a speck of white could be seen.

"That looks not going to work with me." Knuckles responds, pushing the door shut.

* * *

Once everything is settled and ready, the gang sets out for the Station Square High School. For breakfast, Sonic takes Jamie to the bakery to fetch some delicious goods. When Jamie asks for something, she gets it. In this case, she wants a cheese danish, and Sonic gets it for her. As she eats, she plays with her new ring, which sparkles when the sun hits it.

"I'd be careful with that ring of yours, Jai," Sonic warns, "People get jealous when it comes to nice things."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Sonic," Jamie assures, "I'm not a person who goes off flashing nice things out of thin air."

"But still, keep an eye on it," Knuckles intervenes, "I got that for you, you know."

"And that's why I'm going to keep two eyes on it instead of one."

The high school building was more modernesque than the other buildings in the Station Square city. The outside walls are made out of glass with metal rims connecting each panel together. The doors are revolving, and students push their way into the school with their bags in hand. There are five steps that lead to the front door of the school, each marked with a word that makes up the school's motto, "A Bright Future Awaits You." The only person who pays attention to those words is Jamie Reese.

"This is it. My first day, and I get to find out what class I'm in."

Amy hugs her at the side. "Make us proud, Jamie."

"I will, Miss Amy."

"Make sure you make some friends," Tails says, "Friends are important after all."

"I'll try my best, Tails."

"Also focus on whatever the teacher tells you and follow the rules," Sonic adds.

"I already have that taken care of, Sonic. What about you, Knuckles?"

Knuckles smirks and says, "I think you have everything taken care of from here. We'll be here to pick you up if you want us to."

"Oh, that will be great. Thank you, Knuckles."

He pounds his fist to his chest. "Now, go out there and make yourself known!"

Jamie giggles and dashes her way up the school steps to the front door.

Knuckles nods once and releases a long sigh.

Sonic pats his shoulders. "She'll be fine, Knuckles. With that positive attitude, Jamie's going to make a lot of new friends this year."

"That's not what I'm afraid of."

"Then, what is?" Tails questions.

"No need to worry about that. Let's just go, and I'll pick her up after school."


End file.
